Renewables becoming competitive, IEA

Released today, it provides guidance for policy makers and other stakeholders to avoid past mistakes, overcome new challenges and reap the benefits of deploying renewables – today and tomorrow.

The new book, Deploying Renewables 2011: Best and Future Policy Practice,
analyses the recent successes in renewable energy, which now accounts
for almost a fifth of all electricity produced worldwide, and addresses
how countries can best capitalise on that growth to realise a
sustainable energy future.

In launching the book, IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said deployment of renewable energy must be stepped up
– especially given the world’s increasing appetite for energy and the
need to meet this demand more efficiently and with low-carbon energy
sources.

"As the IEA’s analysis has shown, without an urgent and radical change of policy direction, the world will lock itself into an insecure, inefficient and high-carbon energy system,"
Ms. Van der Hoeven said. "Renewables already play a central role in
fostering sustainability and energy security, and their significance
will only grow in the coming decades. Against this backdrop, Deploying Renewables 2011 provides a major review of renewable energy markets and policies at this critical juncture."

New challenges have come to the fore:
Growth in renewable energy has so far focused on just a few of the
available technologies, and rapid deployment is confined to a relatively
small number of countries. In more advanced markets, managing support
costs and system integration of large shares of renewable energy in a
time of economic weakness and budget austerity has sparked vigorous
political debate.

The new IEA book builds on and extends a 2008
publication, drawing in recent policy and deployment experience
worldwide. It also:

• Provides a comprehensive review and analysis of renewable energy policy and market trends
• Analyses in detail the dynamics of deployment and provides best-practice policy principles for different stages of market maturity
• Assesses the impact and cost-effectiveness of support policies using new methodological tools and indicators
• Investigates the strategic reasons underpinning the pursuit of RE deployment by different countries and the prospects for globalisation of RE

This publication provides a summary of the analysis. More details are available in three associated IEA information papers – Renewable Energy: Markets and Prospects by Region, Renewable Energy: Markets and Prospects by Technology and Renewable Energy: Policy Considerations for Deploying Renewables – available also via the IEA website, www.iea.org.